Dilemma Time

[Bubbleicious5]

Hi Everyone

I haven't been on for a while. Sadly Pickle went to Rainbow Bridge on 3rd September. He went to sleep forever under our bed sometime during the early hours. Heartbroken as he had been doing amazingly well. Miss him so much.

Our number of cats has now decreased to four and we have been thinking about rescuing a kitten or two. However, a work colleague has asked me if I would like to have her five month old female kitten, sadly said kitten is too boisterous for her older cat and she also thinks her flat is too small. I have 3 males and one ragdoll female, the boys are all mogs. Spike and Bumble are 6 years old, Shelby (Ragdoll) will be 13 in November and Ted we think, is around 13 or 14.

My main concern is Shelby. Shelby has been the only female since my Willow passed in 2012. I have read conflicting reports on bringing another female cat into the mix. I have also had experience of the same. When I first brought Shelby into the mix Willow went downhill, she stopped cleaning herself and actually became quite poorly, happily she recovered and went on to live a happy life, though sadly cut short by inoperable blood clots in 2012. Shelby is a complete nutjob and likes nothing more to tear about the place like a kitten for no apparent reason, at random times lol.

I'm just so torn. I don't want to upset Shelby, but at the same time wonder if it might be nice for her to have a young female around?

Your thoughts/advice would be much appreciated.

xx

[meriad]

at 5 months old I'd have thought that it should be just fine introducing another female into the mix... Just get her spayed asap if she isn't already as that will also help matters. But if you think about it - ideal age to rehome a kitten is about 12 weeks so the 5 months isn't all that far off it.

How do Spike and Bumble get on and how active are they; would they be energetic enough to play with a 5 month old?

I'd say go for it; at least you know the little one is coming to a good home

[Ruth B]

I know that a lot of people say they have problems introducing females, but for me the problems seems to have been the other way around.

When Blue our Ragdoll was pts, we were left with Tiggy, approximately 12 - 13 year old rehomed moggy, who we had had for about 10 years. I decided to get a pair of youngsters, each about 6 months old, old enough to be left alone, but I hoped young enough to play together and not antagonise Tiggy too much. The rescue told me that Freyja was extremely nervous and was thought to have been badly treated before they got her, she had however made friends with one of the young males and they wanted them to go together, so it seemed the perfect pair. As it is Freyja has adopted Tiggy as her guide to the good and bad in life, to the extent we now refer to her as Tiggys 'little white shadow'. Saturn, has turned into a typical lad and while not vicious he does tend to tease Tiggy and can be passive aggressive with the other two, lying in doorways or across the top of the stairs so they can't get past easily.

I think a lot depends on the attitudes of the cats more than anything else. If Shelby is a typical Ragdoll (Blue was so laid back he was horizontal) I don't think she will have a problem and the other cats are young enough that they should be willing to make sure the newcomer isn't too boisterous.

[Mrs Kane]

Introductions of younger cats can always be traumatic.
Females, I've found, tend to be more receptive but also calm down quicker and tend to either reject or mother the new cats (the younger, the better or more rejective). Males can get quite vicious if they don't like the new cat(s) and can take months or years to bond if the intro isn't just so.
It's a real hit and miss. But I would say as long as you have room for the new cats just go for it. Set up a safe room for the newbies with food, litter box etc. Get the others interested and just take each day as it comes.
Don't force friendship and make sure you're around for any intros. They may fall into a perfect balance or there may be resentment. As long as you have room there won't be lasting conflict.
I would say if possible you should be there for the first 24-48 hours of introduction in the background (I wouldn't recommend introducing cats within 24hr of bringing them home, I would give it at least 5-7 days, perhaps more). Not doing much, just pottering around, on the tablet/laptop/whatever. But make sure you're in the rooms you most use so all cats are used to it. Don't go in the safe room unless there's a bad situation and you need to take the new cats back to their original place.
That's what I've done in the past. I'm sure others have far better ideas.

[bobbys girl]

I think as long as you can give all the cats plenty of space and introduce the youngster slowly everything should be fine. We still have tussles between Grace and Bobby - usually because she tries it on and he slaps her down 'don't try your tricks on me aunty Grace'. But everyone has the space to retreat.

BTW Pickle's passing must have been very traumatic for you. But it seems a lovely, peaceful way for him to go. RIP Pickle, much-missed puss.

[Crewella]

Because I foster (and am a sucker for a sob story) I've taken on various older mogs over the last few years and found that, as long as the cats are essentially sociable and given plenty of time and space, it usually works out. Only in one case have I had to 'abort mission', when the incoming cat turned out to be one of those cats that really wants an owner all to themselves (he tried to chase all the others away). Otherwise, even if they're not the best of friends, they've all learned to rub along pretty well.

[Bubbleicious5]

Hi everyone

Thanks for your comments. So little Vespa has been with us for nearly two weeks now. She's a right little Alpha Female and giving the boys a run for their money. Spike, I think, is quite taken with her, although does get a bit over zealous in the playing department and can turn into a bit of a spat sometimes.... Bumble is a bit frightened, but starting to play along with her.

Mmmm, Shelby, she isn't impressed. Although she slept on the bed as normal last night, even when Vespa decided to get on as well. Shelby does grumble and hiss at her a lot. Up til this morning Shelby has been eating well, but this morning she only ate a tiny bit. It might be her usual 'nah not hungry this morning' fussiness, but obviously I worry. Prob gonna treat her to some tuna tonight and see how she goes. She has still been sitting on my lap etc and grumbling at Vespa when she is nearby.

Going to invest in some more Pet Rescue refills, as I have quite a few plug ins, but am only using one at the moment.

xx

[bobbys girl]

Nice to see the little minx, she certainly likes the camera! Mine STILL have their grumbles and spats from time to time - usually over the best seat or part of the bed. But it doesn't mean anything.

Vespa WILL calm down and Bumble and Shelby will be fine with her, maybe even friends.

[Crewella]

She does indeed look a right little minx!

That all sounds pretty promising to me, I hope it continues that way.

[Mayday21]

Hi now Vespa's an interesting name - isn't there a brand of 'scooter' Vespa. You may find her scootering around the house after your fur babes. And she's very photogenic Vivian